B+H was one of the first foreign architecture firms to establish a presence in China, opening an office in Shanghai in 1992 after winning a competition to design the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport. Issued a permit bearing the auspicious number one, the Toronto-based firm received the first all-encompassing license to work on projects in the new special economic zone in Shanghai, testament to B+H’s pioneering involvement in the market transformation experiment that China would embark upon.

Since 1992, B+H’s Shanghai office has evolved into a full-service architecture, master planning, interior and landscape practice, with more than 150 employees and projects designing commercial, mixed-use, residential, transportation, industrial and lab/pharmaceutical facilities. To date, the firm has had over 21 million square metres of its design work constructed over the past 20 years in China. The Shanghai office now anchors B+H’s branch office in Beijing and its expansion into other Asian markets, including Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Delhi.

The foundation of B+H’s success in China rests on our ability to adapt our collective experience to emerging markets in order to create innovative designs. The integrated team approach we developed in Canada allows us to complete some of the most challenging and technically-complex projects in the world. Our 20 years of experience in China have also given us an in-depth understanding of local culture, aesthetics and construction methods.

B+H has become widely known as a pioneering firm in China. We played a significant role in developing and establishing standards, processes and techniques for urban planning, architectural design, project management and construction that are still being used and evolving today.

HSBC International Business Awards

B+H is the inaugural recipient of the HSBC International Business Award for Leadership in International Trade in the Asia-Pacific region. The HSBC International Business Awards are an important, new awards program that honours Canadian firms that have made a real difference in taking their products and services to the world.

From left to right: The Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Ontario; Mark Ceolin, Chairman, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai; Karen Cvornyek, President Asia, B+H Architects; The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario; The Honourable Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ontario.